Now that he's donated 60 gallons of blood to Bonfils Blood Center, Olson is working toward the 70-gallon mark.

"It just seemed like the right thing to do when I started (donating). I just got in the habit of doing it," he said.

Olson, of Louisville, gave his 60th gallon during his 480th visit earlier this month at Bonfils Boulder Community Donor Center and staff honored him with a ruby encrusted lapel pin, certificate and lunch during a celebration on Aug. 8.

"It's a big deal and I'm proud of it, but there are others up in the 70 (-gallon range)," he said. "That's my next (goal). I'll try to hit 70, I guess, as long as I stay healthy.

Earlier this month, Virgil Olson reached the 60-gallon mark for blood donations to Bonfils. Olson was a regular donor at Golden's Coors Brewing Company, before he retired from the company in 1993, and Coors honored him as Donor of the Year twice with plaques for his accomplishments. (Kimberli Turner/Colorado Hometown Weekly)

"

Virgil is the 11th person in Bonfils' nearly 70-year history to donate 60 gallons, and the only one in East Boulder County to donate that much.

The other 60-gallon donors are from the Denver-metro area, said Bonfils spokesperson Dianna Hemphill. A Westminster man hit the 80-gallon mark in March, making him Bonfils' highest-gallon donor.

Olson began giving blood during high school in his hometown of Columbus, Neb., when Red Cross came through town. His father and two brothers donated, so he followed suit.

Since then he's given blood through other agencies, including Denver General (now known as Denver Health Medical Center) and Children's Hospital.

Those donations aren't even included in the number of gallons Bonfils officials have tallied.

Olson began donating to Bonfils in 1959, two years after he moved to Denver to take classes at an engineering and drafting trade school in his mid-20s.

His whole-blood donations continued as he worked for Golden's Coors Brewing Company and the company honored him as Donor of the Year twice. He retired in 1993 and has lived in Louisville since 1997.

The City of Louisville asked Olson on Monday, Aug. 20, to serve as the grand marshal for the city's annual Labor Day parade on Sept. 3, and he accepted.

"Hitting the 60-gallon mark is a great feat and we wanted to recognize Virgil for it," Louisville public relations manager Meredyth Muth said in an email.

Olson said city officials asked him to act as grand marshal a few years ago after he donated 50 gallons, but he had to turn it down because he and his wife Jan Shirey had plans to visit Europe over that Labor Day weekend.

"You don't get many opportunities like that. Not many people get that opportunity," he said, adding that he was surprised the first time the city approached him. "I never heard of such a thing."

Olson encourages people to start donating at an early age, and he's inspired coworkers, family and friends to give blood.

He said he's had a great experience with Bonfils and needles don't give him any anxiety -- even after being stuck more than 500 times in his life.

"No, that doesn't bother me at all. I think that's a lot of the reason people don't donate," he said.

When Olson gave whole-blood donations, he waited eight weeks in between each visit; now that he gives platelets and plasma, he goes in about every two weeks.

Bonfils officials draw one unit of blood at each visit and it takes eight units to make a gallon. Hemphill said Bonfils estimates that each unit helps up to three people.

"He's touched the lives of 1,440 people," she said.

Hemphill said Bonfils officials are grateful for the example that Virgil and other donors like him have set for younger people by donating so often.

"They come in so regularly that they become part of the Bonfils family," she said. "It's nice the staff can take the time to celebrate Virgil and all of his accomplishments."

Dye pours in 19 for TrojansSmothering. Confounding. And just a tad frustrating ... at least for the opposition.
Longmont's defense, whether they are playing a 1-3-1 zone, 2-3 zone or man-to-man -- and it can switch from possession to possession -- can give teams fits. Full Story

The Boulder alt-country band gives its EPs names such as Death and Resurrection, and its songs bear the mark of hard truths and sin. But the punk energy behind the playing, and the sense that it's all in good fun, make it OK to dance to a song like "Death." Full Story